Some Things Are Better Than a Jacket
by StillStayingGold
Summary: Ashley has been a friend of the gang since before she can remember, but what happends when life takes a twist? Will the outcome be good or bad?
1. Hey, Cuz!

Some Things Are Better Than a Jacket  
  
CHAPTER ONE  
  
"Hey, Mara! How's it going?" I asked as I reached my cousin who was throwing the party that we were at.  
  
"It's doin' a lot better now that I got that bastard out of my house," she said referring to her last boyfriend who had recently moved out.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you're doing better." I said with a slight smile and a very cousin-like punch on her shoulder. "Now that we're done with this very loving scene, I want to know where the gang is. I'm plannin' on gettin' real hammered tonight and I can't do it without my buddies."  
  
"It sure is nice to see somebody's not feeling to down tonight. Ashley, you'll never change."  
  
"That's beside the point. Where is everybody?" I said getting a bit impatient.  
  
"They're in the living room."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Well, hey there, Johnnyboy. What are you up to?"  
  
"It's nice to see you too, Ashley. Thanks for making me feel so loved," Pony said sarcastically.  
  
"I'm sorry, kiddo." And with that I jumped on his lap and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"He don't need to feel that loved. C'mon off him. One of these days your gonna get yourself into trouble actin' like that." Johnny spoke with a tone of voice that gave off that he was jealous, but I didn't care. It took a lot to make him talk and he had just said three whole sentences to me. I did what he told me to and got off of Ponyboy.  
  
"So, what are you guys plannin on doing tonight, since I know you won't be drinking and you don't have any girls. I can keep you company if you like, but I'll warn you. I'm gonna be a little drunk."  
  
"That's all right. You act better when you're drunk," said a very tickled Ponyboy.  
  
"Yea, you look better when I'm drunk, too." I said very pleased with my quick comebacks.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe we'll try to find some of the other guys and hang out if they don't have dates."  
  
"You know you don't want to do that. Hang out with me for the night."  
  
"Do we have a choice?" Pony asked with his eyebrows raised matter-of- factly.  
  
"To tell you the truth, not much of one." 


	2. Drunkeness and purple lace

Hey, it's StillStayingGold.obviously. I'm new here and everything and this is my first fanfic, but I know that that's just a waste of time to talk about and you people don't really care, so I'm going to get on with the topic. Review or e-mail me with any suggestions. All types of criticism are welcome, and anything you would like to say to me as well. You don't have to review if you don't want to; I know how annoying it can get when people are begging for them. Anyway, here's chapter two.  
  
Oh, and I remembered I needed to do this. Disclaimer: I own everyone you don't recognize. Everyone else belongs to S. E. Hinton.  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
"Well, hey there, Two-Bit. Can I interest you in a lovely night with me and these two kids here?"  
  
"That depends. What're you doin'," he slurred.  
  
"At the moment, I'm getting too drunk for my own good, and currently have no self control. I don't know exactly what those two are doing. I think their just watching me make a full on ass of myself, but hey, everything's grand in Ashley land."  
  
"If it will make you happier, I enjoy watching you make an ass of yourself." Two-Bit said jokingly.  
  
"Yea, you get all jolly, and then you start rambling on about stuff that nobody cares about. But I would have to say the funniest thing is when you try to pick up guys." Pony said, knowing that I was too drunk to care that I was being insulted  
  
"I pick up guys okay when I'm dunk. I bet I could lift Two-Bit here right over my head." At that, Two-Bit and I started laughing our heads off. After the first two minutes of laughing, we weren't laughing at my remark anymore.  
  
"That joke was lame beyond means of comprehension," Ponyboy said.  
  
After we were through with our drunken laughing fit, I looked at Johnny to find him taking a swig of my beer. "Now you be careful with that kid- ah screw it! I ain't your boss. Drink as much as you want. I'm just gonna tell you now though. That hangover is going to be a major bitch." Then I just went back to playing around with Two-Bit.  
  
I liked hangin' with Two-Bit, because I knew he expected nothing from me. Our relationship was totally friendly, and it was good to have something like that. Sure, we flirted sometimes, but we knew we would never go beyond that. He was eighteen and I was fifteen. Besides, he was my buddy. I just didn't like my buddies like that.  
  
Fifteen minutes later we were four hammered teenagers in the middle of a party lying on the floor of my cousin's bedroom. It was awesome.  
  
"Hey, Ashley," a voice said from a few feet over. I looked over to see Johnny lying there staring at me.  
  
"Hey, kid. What's up?"  
  
"Why do you always call me kid? I'm a year older than you."  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't really think about it much. Guess I think that age isn't really anything but how long you been on the planet. I grew up too fast, and so I always thought of myself as a few years older than I really am. You dig?"  
  
"Yea, I dig."  
  
"Good. I'm hot. You wanna go outside? I need fresh air."  
  
"Sure, why not? It ain't like I got anything better to do with my time." He said tiredly.  
  
We fought through the party which was getting pretty heavy, and I wanted to go and tell Pony and Two-Bit to wake up, but I decided against it. It was their fault for falling asleep when they knew they were at a perfectly good party. And besides, I was going outside with Johnny to talk. I had better things to do than mind their business for them.  
  
When we reached the porch, I was happy to see that no one was out there. Johnny sat on a low step and leaned back. I joined him since I didn't know what else to do. I leaned back against the step behind me and looked up at the sky. There were only a few stars out that night, but the sky was still beautiful. You could see the clouds in front of the moon. They were like pieces of purple lace strung together.  
  
"Hey, Johnny," I said dreamily, "have you ever looked at something, and for no particular reason, didn't want to take you eyes off of it?"  
  
"Yea, lots of times. Why?"  
  
"The sky, it's the same sky it was yesterday, and when I looked at it then it didn't seem as beautiful as it does now."  
  
"Oh, well I can understand that." He grinned.  
  
"What," I asked puzzled.  
  
"I was just thinking, this is the only time me and Pony can smart off to you without getting our butts whooped, and I kinda like it. He's right, you know. You do act more easy goin' and down to earth when you're drunk. You're not like Two-Bit, who gets crazy, or like my dad, who gets mean. You're just.you."  
  
"Well, durr. Of course I'm me. Don't you know by now? I have to be original about everything I do," I said kidding.  
  
"No, you know what I mean. You just do everything right. It puzzles me sometimes."  
  
"You know what," I said getting ready to make a joke, "I think you had too much to drink. Usually it's me rambling on about things that make no sense, but now it's you."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Let's go back in and wake those two up. Two-Bit's not gonna be happy if he misses this party," I said attempting to change the subject without him noticing.  
  
"Okay." 


	3. Awkward silences I know, so original

Okay, I'm back with another chapter. Notice I'm talking as if anyone's actually reading this. If you are, thanks a bunch. You may think that last chapter was useless, but it's gonna lead to something real important, so yea.  
  
Disclaimer: I own everyone you don't recognize; S. E. Hinton owns the rest.  
  
When I walked through the back door of Mara's house, I saw her smirking when she walked past me. Not thinking much about it, I went on walking toward the bedroom we were in. After making sure Johnny was still with me, I turned the door knob.  
  
"Ponyboy Curtis! What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Pony must have had a little bit too much to drink too, because he was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed passing a joint between two other greasers.  
  
"Ah, calm down. You're being uptight. Let the kid live a little." I then knew who the others were after getting a good look at their faces. Eric Hudson, a well known pusher around town (even the socs bought drugs from him), and the second one's first name was Corey, but I couldn't remember his last.  
  
"Get up now, Pony. You better hope Darry doesn't find out about this, or it'll be your ass and mine."  
  
"You know, Ashley, I never did realize how much you order me around. I'm only a year younger than you. Give me one good reason why I should listen to you," he said with his eyebrows furrowed.  
  
"Pony, you ain't yourself at the moment. Just come with me and Ashley and we'll cool you off," Johnny said. I was startled because I completely forgot he was there.  
  
"C'mon, Eric, this ain't worth the trouble. Let's spilt, and we'll meet the guys at the corner."  
  
"Sure, man." And with that, the two slowly walked out of the room trying hard to keep their balance. I noticed how one was shaking really hard, and it hurt to think of Pony ever being in a state such as that.  
  
I just stood there, not saying anything, because if I did, I would have smacked him. We were just still, looking into each other's eyes full of anger and ready to bust any minute. I finally broke the silence by going over to sit next to him. I was sitting there thinking of what to say, with a blank stare on my face. In the end, I thought up something that wasn't going to get us both angrier.  
  
"You know, I don't mean to boss you around. I can't help it sometimes. I feel it's my duty to help people. I get worried to easily." I said in a voice that was all but a whisper.  
  
"I'm sorry. I mean, for what I just did," Pony said, still not looking me in the eye.  
  
"Yea, I guess you pulled a stupid." I was trying to ease the tension that he was giving off, and apparently it worked. He had somewhat of a grin on his face.  
  
"Well, here I am, left alone again. I swear, you guys, I'm standing right here and you don't even notice me," said Johnny, who was standing beside us.  
  
"I'll apologize, if that's what you're after."  
  
"You won't mean it," he said with a smile on his face.  
  
"Hey, take it, or leave it."  
  
"I want to go home. I'm about to fall asleep." Pony did look like he was going to pass out, so I said, "Well, I guess we better go find Two-Bit. God knows what he's up to." And with that we left.  
  
On the ride home, I couldn't take my eyes off the clouds. I mean, it was just beautiful how you could see them even in the night time. Even though my eyes were practically glued to the sky, I would quickly glance around to everybody in the car to make sure they were alright. I mostly look at Two-Bit to make sure he was driving okay, because he had had more than enough drinks at the party. It could have been worse. Hell, we could have been at Buck's that night with Dally.  
  
Thinking of which, that man looks a whole lot like Dally crossing the road in front of us. Oh God!  
  
"Two-Bit, stop! It's Dally!" The car screeched to a stop, but I fainted before I knew if we were soon enough.  
  
Reviewing is strongly encouraged, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Just keep reading, please! 


	4. Revival and The first stone

Hey, everybody! StillStayingGold here. Just wanted to than everyone who reviewed and let you know that the rest of the gang will be in this chapter, so.yea. Read on!  
  
Disclaimer: Again, I own everyone that wasn't in the original book, S. E. Hinton owns the cool ones.  
  
"Ashley, get up. Please, get up," said a very worried Darry.  
  
"What? Is Dally okay," I said in a whisper, "and who was slapping me? That's starting to hurt." I bet it was Darry; He was always too rough without meaning to be.  
  
"Sorry, you passed out. I was just trying to get you awake."  
  
"Well, apparently it worked. You still haven't answered my question, though. Is Dally all right?"  
  
"Yea, I'm fine." Dally was sitting in Darry's chair next to the couch.  
  
"Yea, and um.,"Two-Bit was trying to tell me something but he was too drunk to know how to say it, "Um.oh, yea, Dally's really glad you passed out because of him. Or no, wait."  
  
"I know what you're trying to say Two-Bit. Don't worry about it," I said between laughs. "Well, I better get going. I hope Mom didn't worry too much about me." I was thinking more along the lines of, I hope Mom doesn't feel the need to lock me up in my room forever for being at a house full of boys until 2:00 am.  
  
"Pony, Johnny, you two want to walk with me? I don't want to be out alone this late at night." It was the truth. Going out at this time of night could get me killed. I at least had that much common sense.  
  
"Sure," Pony said, "You mind Darry?"  
  
"No, just be back in ten minutes," He said.  
  
On the way out, I was freezing. I had a white halter that tied up at my neck and a black mini-skirt on. Johnny noticed this and gave me his jacket since I would be giving it back in ten minutes.  
  
"Y'all know what?" Johnny asked.  
  
"What?" Pony and I said in unison.  
  
"I think left my blade at your house, Pon. You mind goin and getting it?"  
  
"Sure, no problem. I need to get some aspirins anyway; I'm comin down from the trip."  
  
"Well, it serves you right for being stupid," I said scornfully, "But, hey. You learn from your mistakes.  
  
"Are you through with your lecture now, or do you have anything else to tell me?"  
  
"I'm finished. Now run along little one." And at that he rolled his eyes at me, so I gave him a gesture involving my middle finger and the sky.  
  
So, now I was here with Johnny Cade, and once again, we were alone.  
  
"So, Ashley," he said awkwardly, "there's a movie playing Friday night, and I was wondering if you wanted to go see it. With me, I mean."  
  
"Yea, sure. I'd like that. Well, here we are. Welcome to my wonderful house. It's the coolest place in the world. Not a bore in this place, no siree bob."  
  
"I'm telling you Ashley, when you get buzzed, you just.I don't know. You just get full of lame sarcasm, and it's kinda funny.  
  
"Oh, shut up. I'm gonna go in now. I'll see you later." And with that Johnny walked off forgetting his jacket. I felt around in the pockets and found his switch-blade. That was pretty cleaver, sending Pony back to the house to get his blade. All so he could ask me out.  
  
Wait.Johnny asked me out. "YEA," I screamed.  
  
"Why are you yelling on the front lawn at this time of night, and speaking of time, you broke your curfew. Consider yourself grounded until Saterday.  
  
"What, no! I can't. I have to be at the movie house-"  
  
"Ashley, your grounded until the end of this week. You say another word, and it will be intil the end of next week."  
  
I silently walked up to my room, and easily opened and closed the door. I laid face down onto my bed and screamed into my pillow. Once, when I stopped to take a breath, I heard a slight tapping on my window. I lifted the curtain to see Johnny standing there with his hands full of pebbles. 


	5. Rebellion and Comics

Hello again! It's me and I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed so, yea, thanks. I'm here with another chapter, and I'll try to update every day, and if it can't be that soon, it will at least be every other day. Well, now that I've blabbed enough, here's chapter five.  
  
Disclaimer: I own everyone you don't recognize. The rest belongs to S. E. Hinton. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I leaned out of my window so I could talk in the lowest voice possible. "Johnny, what are you doing here? If it's your jacket you want, I can give it to you tomorrow. I'm sorry I didn't remember I had it."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Can you come out here? I can't go home, and I've been at Pony's house all week. I'm just another mouth to feed. I need somebody to walk with me because I'm bored." Johnny had now dropped all of the stones and had his hands crossed over his chest, rubbing his arms.  
  
"Hold on, let me get some things and I'll be down in a minute," I said, going to get his jacket and one of my own.  
  
I stepped out of my window that lead to the front porch and ran to the back yard to pay a visit to Johnny. All this time we'd been friends and I never knew how much I liked him. It was like all it took was one moment and I was completely infatuated with him. Notice how I said 'infatuate' and not love. I was way too young for love; I didn't even know the half of it back then.  
  
Johnny was standing there, shivering with cold, teeth chattering, lips chapped, and a smile on his face. "Hey," he said shyly, which confused me, since I didn't know what he had to be shy about. I didn't mind it though; he was cute when he blushed. "Hey," I replied.  
  
We walked to the end of town, and then to the park. We sat at the fountain, and rested on each other. It was awkward at first, me leaning on his with his arm around me, but after a minute, we got comfortable. It was actually kinda cool until Dally saw us and started coming towards our way. Johnny quickly took his arm off of me and we both sat up strait.  
  
"Well, look what we got here, a couple o' lovebirds. Tell me, when's the wedding?" Dally was leaned up against a tree with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a smirk on his face. "No, wait, I got a better one. When's the baby due?"  
  
Right then, I was ready to kill Dallas Winston, but I including the rest of the gang knew very well not to piss him off. Ever. I stood up, not even taking the slightest glance at Dally, and pulled Johnny with me, and we walked away from Dallas just like that. No questions asked. It must have been our lucky day, because had we been anybody else, Dally would have beet the shit out of us.  
  
We walked to the drug store to get a comic, or a chocolate bar, or something. To tell you the truth, I didn't care what we did; I just loved walking with him. When we stepped through the door, the first thing I saw was a man taking a gun out of his jacket pocket. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ha! I left you on a cliff hanger. Yes, I'm evil. You're welcome to tell me that, oh and you're also welcome to review. *wink wink*. I'll try to update tomorrow.  
  
Bye for now  
StillStayingGold. 


	6. Resulting in shock

Hey, sorry I haven't been updating as much, but I've been hangin with my boyfriend lately. I'll try to hurry up now. Sorry about the cliff hanger in the last chapter, but I got tired of writing, so I was in a hurry to stop, plus it makes it easier to start the next chapter. So, here's the sixth chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: Again, I don't own the cute ones;)  
  
"Oh my God! Johnny run," I yelled. The man noticed us, and shot at the door. The bullet was an inch away from Johnny's head, so I let out a loud cry.  
  
The cashier to this moment to his advantage, and reached for a gun under the counter. When the robber saw this, he shot the man in the chest. Then he looked at us with a smirk on his face. "Okay kids, you're gonna sit down right over here while I get the money. You make one move and I'll spread your heads over the concrete." We did what he said and sat against the wall with our knees up against our chests.  
  
While the robber was getting all the money from the cash register, I noticed that Johnny was looking intently at something. Trying to see what he was looking at was difficult though, because I kept getting distracted. The man with the gun kept mumbling something and I was trying to catch a few words of it. There was a whole lot of, "Everything's gonna be better now," and "We wont have to worry anymore," so I'm guessing he was doing this for a pretty good reason, but I wasn't one to guess very well. I went back to try and figure out what Johnny was looking at.  
  
It was then that I saw it. The gun had been thrown when the cashier had been shot. I met Johnny's eyes, and by the look I gave him, I could tell he knew what I was thinking.  
  
When the man was convinced that we were going to say beside the wall and not resist anything he was doing, he laid his gun down next to him, so he could load up faster. Johnny was sitting closest to it, so it was like an unspoken agreement that when the opportunity arrived, he was to reach over and retrieve it.  
  
We sat in fear for another what seemed like 3 hours but was really like 30 seconds and the man was closing the cash register and slammed his finger while doing so. He let out a loud cry and Johnny took advantage of this to throw himself at the gun, grasp hold of it, and come back to his spot next to me without being noticed.  
  
When the man was finished bagging his money, he looked at us and spoke over nicely as if her were taking to a child. "Okay, kids. Since I'm obviously not wearing a mask, you'll be able to identify me to the police, and we just can't have that, now can we? He picked his gun up, and aimed it at Johnny. I couldn't stop thinking 'Johnny, wake up, Johnny. He's gonna kill you. Do something', but he froze. I grabbed the gun from his hands and before the robber knew what was happening I pointed the gun toward him without aiming much, and I fired. I didn't know what to do about the burgalar, but I did know that Johnny and I had better get ourselves out of there, because I wasn't paying any attention to where I shot him. When we got to the edge of street, I didn't have a chance to ask if Johnny was okay. I had passed out. Again.  
  
Hey, people. Don't kill me for the long wait. Like I said, I've been hangin out with the boyfriend. I'm not going to pressure you to review, because I've punished you enough;) I'll update as soon as possible, though. 


	7. Long Time, No See

Hey, sorry again for the delay. Damn friends.just too fun these days. Anyway, I made her faint again for a reason, just don't know it yet. I'm sure it will come to me sooner or later. ( Okay, I'm currently suffering from serious writer's block, so if you feel you could improve my story, your ideas are welcome. I'll make sure to deliver the necessary credits. All right, here goes.  
  
Disclaimer: Yea, yea. You know the deal.  
  
From what I've gathered, Johnny waited for me for ten minutes trying to revive me. Obviously he succeeded, or I wouldn't be talking. Since we weren't ready to go home for fear of my mom catching me up and out this late, we went to Mara's house, because we knew she didn't give a damn if we hung out unsolicited.(A/N: don't you just love the thesaurus! That means uninvited. Sorry for the nerdiness.)  
  
On the way up Mara's steps, I was wondering if I really wanted to spend the night over there. The last time I had spent too much time hanging out with her, I made the stupid mistake of making out with one of her eighteen year old friends. Can you say illegal?  
  
We didn't even bother knocking on the door; it was Mara's house. Then more than now I wished I would have knocked. Mara had a guy, on the floor, in the middle of the living room. No, they weren't doing anything too bad, but it was something that I wasn't in the mood for.  
  
I had been grounded by my mother, picked on by Dally, almost killed by a robber, and now I walk into the place I'm supposed to sleep to find two stupid teenagers getting ready to go at it. I cleared my throat to try and let them know that there was someone else in the room, but that didn't work. I was about to do again, but then I noticed that the guy looked strangely familiar. I stood in silence trying to remember where I had seen him. Though, I think Johnny caught me staring strongly at the kiss, so he said rather loudly, "C'mon you kids, what has gotten into you? We turn our backs for a second and you can't keep your hands to yourself. What are we going to do with you?"  
  
Mara and Mr. Mystery broke apart, so I got a closer look at his face, but I still couldn't figure out who he was. Mara had a specific look in her eyes, and I knew I was going to be paying for what I did later, but until then I was going to refuse to care. "What are you two doing here," she asked tiredly. "We're crashing here tonight. Point us to an empty room." I spoke with a voice that gave off that I didn't want to be messed with, so taking a hint, Mara pointed to the door at the end of the hallway.  
  
Johnny and I made our way down the hall. Before I stepped into the room, I looked back to see Mara and her latest victim tongue wrestling again. That was when I saw him do this weird little trick with his tongue where he licks the side of your lip.  
  
"Topper! I was wondering when I would see you again!" Johnny looked over at me puzzled.  
  
"Hey, Killa. Long time no see," he replied.  
  
All right, peeps. Another cliff hanger, but I promise to update within the next few days so don't hate me. Oh, and hey, fall victim to my pressure and press the review button. It'll tell what to do from there. ( And if any of my cousin's friends are reading this, anything I do wrong is her fault as a result of her awful influence! ;) And to the certain individual who happens to call me along with many others, 'Killa', you're a pedophile and you freak me out. Lol. J/k  
Until next time,  
StillStayingGold. 


	8. Oh, Shit!

Hey, okay, you can officially hate me now. I'll continue writing this story, but just to make you feel better, I'll be doing so while bowing my head in shame. Here goes.  
  
Disclaimer: I own the ones that don't really make that much sense all the time. S.E. Hinton owns the rest.  
  
After I had said hi to Topper, I felt sort of awkward. Sure, he was cool and everything, but some of the things I did in my life were starting to freak me out, and I basically wanted to forget them. Topper was one of the things I wanted to forget. I felt very uncomfortable just standing there, so I said, "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay, so I'll see you two later". With that I turned my back and walked through the door to the room we were using.  
  
"I'm just gonna not say anything about that. I won't ask questions but I will admit, I am intrigued," said Johnny half jokingly. I replied "good, then I won't have to lie to you." I looked ever to see an expression on his face that I couldn't quite label. "I was just kidding. Listen, I have had a very obvious bad day. I want to sleep. You're welcome to stay up as long as you want, but you're gonna have to leave me alone."  
  
"Nahh...that's okay. I'll go to sleep," he said while pulling a blanket out of a closet and laying it on a nearby chair. After seeing this, I objected. "Johnny, I'm secure enough in myself to know that if you and I were to sleep in the same bed, nothing would happen. Get your ass off of that chair and come sleep on a bed." "Yes, ma'am," he said rolling his eyes.  
  
That night, besides the fact that I was so tired, I slept like I had never slept before. It was more...peaceful. I didn't dream, but the whole night I felt more relaxed than ever. Despite my deep sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night. I crawled out of the bed and went to the window.  
  
There were those clouds again. Dark, heavy, Halloween, purple. And the beautiful moon behind them was bright enough to sparkle. The trees in Mara's backyard could be seen in front of the sky, and they looked black. The image was so beautiful that I wished I knew how to paint. I wished I could somehow copy the feeling of it so that everyone could feel the way I was feeling that day. When a gleam of silver caught my eye from the dresser table, I noticed an alarm clock. I picked it up and read the time: 5:47 A.M.  
  
That was it. My mother was going to kill me. I had about twenty minutes to make a safe getaway and run all the way across the neighborhood. There was only one word that could describe how I felt and I felt like I needed to say it.  
  
"Oh, shit!"  
  
Okay, people. I'm not going to promise you that I'll write in a day or so, because I might not. I'll write again when I can, but until then, love the fans (or lack thereof)!  
  
Bye for now,  
StillStayingGold. 


	9. I'm Up!

Hey, everybody. I updated sooner, so now you have to review! It's a take some give some kinda thing. Lol, I'm just kidding, though reviewing is strongly encouraged(. Here's chapter nine.  
  
Disclaimer: You saw the last page. Cut me some slack.  
  
I ran to the bed and gently shook Johnny awake. "Johnny, get up. Johnny, you have to get up. My mom is going to have my ass on a silver platter if you don't get out of the damn bed!"  
  
"All right, I'm coming. Dammit, I was having a good sleep too."  
  
We ran across the neighborhood as fast as we could, and by the time I slipped through the window, my mom was just getting out of her bed. I threw my clothes off and jumped into my bed after making the covers look very untidy. I could hear her footsteps in the hall, so I sprawled out so that only half of my body was covered up with the sheets.  
  
"Ashley, it's time to get up," she said while briefly stepping into my room.  
  
"Mom, it's Saturday," I role-played.  
  
"If you get out of the bed in the next thirty seconds, you're ungrounded."  
  
"I'm up!"  
  
(Later that morning)  
  
"Mom, I'm going to the Curtis' house!"  
  
"Okay, be back by twelve tonight."  
  
I rushed out the door, and started toward the small house at the end of the street. As I entered the living room, I yelled, "Hey, people. Howzit?"  
  
"It's good, Ash. It would also like to know if you wanted something to eat," Steve said, with a crooked half grin.  
  
"Nahh...I already had lunch. Thanks for asking though." I then lied down on one seat of the couch, leaving half of my body hanging over the arm rest. I bent my head back so that what I saw was seen upside down, and viewed Pony looking at me like I was an idiot.  
  
"Hey, there. How's life?" I spoke extra happy that day.  
  
"Life is fine. What put you in such a good mood?" he asked.  
  
"I just happen to have the best life ever. Is that a good enough reason?"  
  
"I guess so," he replied. With that, we sat back to watch T.V.  
  
"Yay! There's a Superman marathon on today!" I absolutely loved Superman. I was cursed with having a sad obsession with him, and back then I believe the same curse was given to many seven to nine year olds throughout the world. I watched with very much enthusiasm until Johnny came walking in a half hour later.  
  
I didn't say anything, but I lifted my legs up from over the edge of the couch and made room for him to sit down. He sat down and leaned his head back on the top of the couch. His eyes closed after a moment and he drifted of into a light sleep. After noticing this I remembered that I hadn't let him sleep much the night before. I nudged his shoulder and asked him if he wanted to go sleep in Pony's bed instead of having to sleep in the middle of a noisy house that was about to get noisier.  
  
"Sure," he said. He lifted himself up off of the couch and trotted down the hallway with his hands in his pockets. When I saw that he had gone into the room and closed the door, I resumed my position on the couch with my feet hanging over the edge.  
  
"You know, I didn't get much sleep either. I think I'll go join him."  
  
"Of course you will," Pony said trying not to laugh.  
  
I slapped him on the back of his head lightly. "Will you shut up kid? It's Johnny! Now, if it were Steve..." I said with a mischievous look on my face. The looks on both of their faces were priceless. "Dudes, I'm kidding. I'd pick Johnny over anybody."  
  
"Whatever," Steve said.  
  
I left them to go sleep.  
  
All right peeps, you don't have to review, but if you don't the ninja penguins will lot your demise in your sleep... Sorry. That wasn't necessary. Still, review. 


	10. Discreetly Disposing

Hey, peeps. I'm back again, and I'm here with another chapter. I'm also hoping you like it, so...yea. Like it, please. Okay, I'm through jabbering now. On with it!  
  
Disclaimer: I own Ashley. S. E. Hinton owns the rest.  
  
When I walked into Pony's room, I found Johnny lying on the floor covered with a thin sheet that had been taken out of the closet. I didn't want to wake him, and of course I didn't want to try and lift him on to the bed. I decided not to disturb his peaceful sleep, and I pulled a blanket off of the bed and lied down next to him after spreading the blanket over us. I curled up and shared his pillow and again, fell into a deep sleep.  
  
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~ `~`  
At about four o'clock, we awoke with Soda calling for us. "Ashley! Johnny! You two better get up if you want anything to eat!" I opened my eyes, and slowly brought myself to my feet. Johnny had already opened his eyes, and he lifted his arm and held out his hand indicating that he wanted me to lift him up. I grabbed it and pulled with a gentle force. When we were both standing, I reached over and fixed his bed hair. With a grin he handed me his comb. I combed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail with a band that I kept around my wrist incase of emergencies. I took Soda's DX hat off of the bed post and pulled my ponytail through it.  
  
As I made my way toward the kitchen, I smelled a strange odor. It didn't smell bad, but it didn't smell good, either. "Who's cooking," I yelled. "I am," replied Soda. Well, that explained it.  
  
There were no empty chairs for the table, so I grabbed one of the strawberry sodas that I brought over to the house and went into the living room to watch T.V. I sat down on the floor next to Two-Bit, and we did the same thing we did almost every night that we ate at the Curtis's house together. I drank about a third of my soda and handed it to him. He then filled the empty space up with his beer. I covered the top with my thumb, shook it, waited for the fizz to go down and then poured some of it into his beer. The others thought it was kinda gross, but we liked it. He had a bit of strawberry flavoring to his beer, and I had a bit of beer in my strawberry soda.  
  
I turned toward the television and leaned back against the couch. A minute later, Johnny joined me with a small amount of over cooked bacon and mashed potatoes that were sort of runny. When I looked at him with my eyebrows raised, he said, "Soda wanted to know what mashed potatoes would taste like with sugar water in them. I'm doing the best I can not to hurt his feelings, but I can't eat this stuff." "Hand it here," I said thinking of a way to discreetly dispose of the food. Carelessly I mentioned that I needed to step outside for a smoke, and I took the plate with me.  
  
When I got out there, I emptied the food behind a near bush, and pulled a cigarette out of my pocket. I stood there, smoking. I waited for a minute after I was done with the cigarette and pulled out another one.  
  
"Hey, Ash, you gonna stay out there day," yelled Steve.  
  
"Has anyone seen my DX hat," yelled Soda.  
  
"Will you people stop yelling," yelled Johnny.  
  
"After you," I yelled with a grin on my face. I handed Soda his DX hat and took the empty plate to the kitchen.  
  
"Did you like the mashed potatoes," Soda asked with a questioning look in his eyes. "They were good, but you put too much sugar water in them; maybe you should put it in a little cup on the side next time so we can put however much we want in them." I knew he knew what I was saying. He knew we hated it, but he grinned anyway because I wasn't being a butt hole about it.  
  
"Well, you guys, I'm getting quite bored. Who wants to do something," I asked walking to the center of the room. "How about we go to the Dingo?"  
  
"I'll leave a note for Darry; He went to the store while you two were asleep, and he hasn't gotten back yet. I'll tell him to come if he wants to, but don't get your hopes up." Soda spoke while writing on a napkin with a pen that he found in Ponyboy's mess of homework on the table.  
  
"Okey dokey, guys. Let's go. I'm in dieing need of some action," I joked.  
  
"You want action," Two-Bit joked, "You just watch me work my magic on those girls."  
  
"We'll see action, all right! They'll be beatin' the hell outta ya!" Johnny, for once that day, put Two-Bit to justice. Well, at least a minor version of justice.  
  
Okay, I'm back, and I fixed my review thingy so now people that are anonymous can review. All the more reason to review. And when I put that thing in about ninja penguins lotting your demise in your sleep, I meant to say ninja penguins plotting your demise in your sleep.  
Sorry for the confusion,  
StillStayingGold. 


	11. Armed and Dangerous

Okay. StillStayingGold, and back here with another oh-so-original chapter to go along with an oh-so-original story line. But hey, cut me some slack. I'm a sucker for the hopeless romantic formulas that target young girls and women between the ages of 13 and 30. Sorry for the ranting. I promise the next story I write will have a more original and exciting plot, and not something as predictable as this. Anyway, thanks for putting up with my practice fic! And for those of you who review, just incase you don't feel that you're getting any credit; I will give you the recognition that you deserve. (  
  
On the way to the Dingo, Soda and Steve noticed a friend from work hanging out around a crowd of other greasers checking out an old 1949 convertible. I knew nothing about cars, so I didn't know what it was, but Steve was glued to the spot.  
  
"You guys go on, me and Steve will meet you back at the house after while," Soda said, chuckling at Steve who was almost drooling.  
  
"All right," I said not really minding.  
  
When we were getting pretty close to the Dingo, almost a block away, we passed by Buck's place. Dally was coming out, and he slammed the door behind him. I looked at Two-Bit and immediately knew he didn't want to stay with us. Pony saw this too, and with his hand, he made a 'shoo' motion with his hand.  
  
"Go. Go and have your cheap fun riding around acting reckless, being a menace to society, getting stupider by the second, but having the time of your life. See if we care," Pony had the sarcasm thing going good! I couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"See, I would stay, but I don't feel like talking about sunsets and novels today," Two-Bit replied quickly. I chuckled, but only loud enough for myself to hear. I actually respected Pony's sensitivity, but I had to snap him out of his daydreams sometimes before it could get to the point where drama defined him.  
  
I had thought about it before. All of our lives were full of drama. It wasn't the kind of drama that you would whine about to all of your friends, or that you would share with the girls in the locker room every morning. It ran too deeply; we were forced to be tough about it because if we weren't we'd break. My home life was pretty good; I would be crazy to complain. It was just listening to the rest of the gang's problems that brought me down.  
  
Dammit. I'm off the subject. Well, here we go. Let's get started...again.  
  
After the quick goodbyes to Two-Bit, and the quick hellos to Dally, we were off to the Dingo once again. I pulled out a smoke and gave on to Johnny and Ponyboy and took out a new lighter that Two-Bit stole for me from a department store.  
  
I stomped the butt out under my shoe and opened the door to the Dingo. As I did, I noticed that my jeans were getting a bit too tight. They had developed a fading look because I constantly wore them; of course they were clean, I just liked them because they were comfortable. Oh, well. I'd have to get a new pair once I got my paycheck at the end of the week from the market at the end of town.  
  
We made our way to the back where we always sat, and I handed Pony a quarter to go pick a good song on the jukebox. The music was faint, but we could hear it all right.  
  
When our song was over, I listened to the radio that the waitress had on the counter.  
  
"'...In recent news, Harold Rowing was murdered along with his three children after being robbed outside of the drugstore on the east side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The department store itself had also been robbed, leaving cashier and manager, Peter Howsend, dead from a bullet wound in the chest. Locals are to be warned that the criminal is still out there and is to be considered armed. Now back to your usual programming...' ''  
  
When Johnny and I heard this, we looked at each other in shock. I didn't say anything because the others didn't know, and as soon as they found out, they would do something stupid. I wasn't about to call the fuzz, because if my mom found out I had snuck out with Johnny, she would have my ass on a silver platter.  
  
When the waitress came to our table, Johnny and Pony ordered up a storm. When she looked at me I said, "I'll have a strawberry milkshake."  
  
"Okay, Ashley, I know you can't just have a strawberry milkshake... All right, miss, she will have a strawberry milkshake with a double cheeseburger and a large order of chili fries with extra cheese and no onions," Johnny said ordering my usual.  
  
"I'm not going to eat all of that," I said with my eyebrows raised.  
  
"Yes you will; just watch," he replied.  
  
He was right. I finished my shake in no time and was still hungry so I started on my cheeseburger. Before I knew it, I had a fork and was eating the extra chili that had fallen off of my fries. We stayed and talked for a few minutes, allowing me to forget about the loose killer walking the streets that would recognize me in a heart beat.  
  
"What do you say we go to Mara's house tonight to have some fun? Hell, it's Saturday. I want to do something useful with my time, not just sit around doin stuff we could do on a school night," I said getting bored with myself.  
  
"Sure, but I'm not drinking as much this time; I stayed up all night puking, and I had to lie right to Darry's face and tell him it was a bug," said Pony.  
  
"All right, but I'm not holding back. I'm better at hiding it I guess... I really didn't have much of a hangover last time. Guess I slept through it."  
  
"Me too," Johnny said, eyeing me. "Probably woulda slept through all of it if little miss 'I don't want to go home' hadn't made me run across town."  
  
"Sorry, but I didn't want to leave you there, and if I hadn't ran, I wouldn't be talking right now; I would be locked up in my room writing my will."  
  
"Fine, you too argue on the way. I don't wanna get there late," Pony said, pulling out another cigarette. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hey, there, guys! Just incase any of you are wondering about the romance part in the story, I plan to put a little in the next chapter. Oh, and other stuff too!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! ...please (  
  
Until next time,  
StillStayingGold 


	12. Strong Passion

Hello, all. StillStayingGold here, back with another chapter. Sorry for the long wait, and thanks for the reviews. You now have permission to verbally kill me because of my torturous act in not updating in forever, but by doing so, you would have to review. See, I'm good with the win/win situations. ;)  
  
On the way back to my house from the Dingo, I made Pony give me a piggy back ride. Him and Johnny had the pleasure of listening to me go on and on about a book that I had read a few days before.  
  
"...and then she was feeling guilty and all about cheating on him with his brother, and she was about to confess that she had had an affair. It really wouldn't have made a difference for her, you see, cause he was doin' the maid..."  
  
Right in the middle of explaining how Rob was feeling about having a romantic relationship with his brother's wife, I saw Johnny laughing at me with hands shoved in his pockets. I tried to lean over and lightly nudge him with my foot, but I guess I leaned out to much, because the next thing I know, we're all rolling on the grass with uncontrollable laughter.  
  
Between laughs, Pony was trying his best to yell at me.  
  
"Why in the hell did you do that," he tried to yell, but it only came out a little louder than he normally spoke.  
  
"I was trying to get Johnny to stop laughing at me. It's not my fault I have a very strong passion for romance."  
  
"You could've just told me to stop laughing. I would've stopped if I had known you were gonna make me fall down like a jackass in somebody else's lawn! But thanks for letting us know you feel strongly about romance; I'm sure once we tell Two-Bit about that, he'll be glad to use it for future reference," Johnny said.  
  
"You wouldn't dare!"  
  
"Ashley, quit with the trying to fake shock. You know he would and you're eventually gonna talk him out of it by doing something weird and embarrassing the hell out of him, so why go on with the pointless acting. Or do you have a strong passion about that too?"  
  
I was ready to wipe that grin right off his face right then, but instead I stood up, dusted myself off, and shot him a rather fierce bird.  
  
"All right, people. Get up; I have to get ready for my cousin's party. I'm a girl, you know, gotta be groomed and shit," I said starting on another cigarette.  
  
"Fine, but don't expect me to give you another piggy back ride. I think I nearly broke my neck," Pony said, rubbing his neck to emphasize his point.  
  
"All right, asshole. I'm gonna remember that."  
  
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_  
  
(Later that evening)  
  
I was going through my clothes trying to find something fit to wear after Pony and Johnny had dropped me off at my house. I wished I could've gone to Buck's party because he always had the wildest ones, but my mom would have killed me. And besides, I couldn't have hung out with Ponyboy. Darry'd wait until pigs flew before he'd let Pony step onto that house; if the fuzz showed up, they would've thrown him in a boy's home so fast it would've made his head spin.  
  
I had found the perfect shirt, a black tube top that hugged my curves just enough, and a decent pair of jeans. I threw on a pair of black sneakers and made my way to the bathroom where the real fun got started.  
  
On my way down stairs to find my jacket, I heard muffled voices coming from the kitchen. I was walking so fast towards the kitchen that, when I passed through the living room, I stumped my toe on chair.  
  
"Ooooooh, SHIT!" I didn't even think about what I had said until I had said it. Then I managed a rather quieter, "Oh, shit," but it wasn't my toe that that curse was directed toward. Nope; it was the woman in the kitchen that had the power to lock me up in my room and completely isolate me from the world if she set her mind to it.  
  
I walked slower into the kitchen and hesitantly looked up to meet the eyes of my mother, but what I saw first attracted my attention faster. Two- Bit was sitting at my kitchen table, beer in his hand, talking to my mother. Alone.  
  
"Oh, shit."  
  
Okay, peeps. I'm terribly sorry for the lack of updates, but please don't hate me. Schools's a bitch, and so is homework, so if you can take the time to forgive me, I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, and also, I worked out a system for all my reviewers. It's called 'If you review my story, I'll review yours.' Starting...now. Kay then, thanks to all of you who actually read these little thingies. I know I don't usually.  
  
Till the next time I feel like it,  
StillStayingGold 


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